That would be too obvious and thus ineffective. In reality it is more likely that they have inserted bugs into various open source software covertly, like we saw with xz.
this post was submitted on 01 Dec 2024
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Showerthoughts
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There was at least one attempt. Back before git the linux kernel was in 1 central repo. There was also a backup repo. It was compromised with a very clever backdoor.
The backdoor was caught but only because it didn't have a reference to the mainline repo.
if ((options == (__WCLONE|__WALL)) && (current->uid = 0)) retval = -EINVAL;
Note the user uid is being set (=) to root instead of being checked(==) for root.
The full story.
https://freedom-to-tinker.com/2013/10/09/the-linux-backdoor-attempt-of-2003/
Looking at leaks of the past, it's probably more likely that they have an arsenal of bug exploits instead of backdoors when it comes to opensource stuff.
Yeah actually that makes more sense than what I originally said. The US is one of the main buyers of gray-market zero day bugs, way cheaper and less risk than trying to covertly implement bugs.
More likely it's probably a non-free repository that many people choose to use like an Intel driver or something.
Exactly. You have to put yourself in the perpetrator's mindset
Why would they bother with the 1% of 4% of Linux users that use their single distro, they'd be better off targeting windows or mobile users.
Cloud servers run Linux. Also the NSA made the defacto secured kernel for enterprise linux
Sure, but its still not a lot of users to target a single distro, even if its the biggest one.
All your metadata is on cloud servers. Your smartphone calls back to cloud servers. Lemmy is hosted on linux. It's not desktop OS that any state actor would target.
I guess I'd be less skeptical if they didn't already have access to so much more data than any one distro would give them, even if it was running all the fucking servers you mentioned. You even pointed out that they have SELinux so why would they need to make any distros?
You and I agree that there's no reason for the NSA to backdoor an OS. It's actually in their best interests to have a secured linux OS, and just buy/collect the metadata they want.
Yeah, it's called Windows.
Heyo!
No doubt, but why limit it to a single distro family when you can backdoor the kernel or a package 90% of people use?
Not just the NSA, that kind of reach is accessible to a lot more governments! I’m pretty sure I read a story about that exact tactic earlier this year that looked like it was coming from China. Maybe no way to know for sure who’s actually behind it, but I would expect any government that has interests in spying on other nations is trying to play that game.
Let's not be unduly pessimistic. Some basic rules continue to apply. By its nature, open-source software is always going to be a pretty solid guarantee against mass surveillance. If a lot of users are affected, the backdoor is going to be discovered and closed pretty quickly. That leaves the problem of individualized surveillance, where exploits are used against high-value targets. But these are by definition expensive. This fact constitutes a kind of protection for everybody else. That's the way I see it.
more than one, more likely.
It's Arch.
Think of the kind of people that use it and the shit they say and do. Now wonder what they do alone.
It's definitely Arch and the target demographic has gobbled it up none the wiser.
Is this a joke?
Probably Kali.